Demolition crews made short work of The Place apartments at 1341 Castle Ct. late last week. A reader reports seeing the 1974 complex largely intact Friday morning, but coming by again that afternoon to see it in this sorry state:
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The 90-unit complex backs up to Hwy. 59 — er, Interstate 69 — just west of the Graustark St. bridge. It was vacated last September.
- Previously on Swamplot: Greystar Giving Residents of The Place Apartments on Castle Ct. Another 5 Months, Sending Them into Black Hole; New Owner of The Place Apartments in Castle Court Plans ‘Lease Down’; All Tenants Out by End of April?, Getting Out of The Place?
Photos: Swamplot inbox
Castle Court Apartments
I used to go by those apartments every day when I first moved to Houston. I lived at the old 1301 Richmond complex for five years while I was in grad school.
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Sad to see the last vestiges of older, more affordable housing disappear from Montrose and other hot Inner Loop areas. It’s ironic because that housing was part of what made those neighborhoods hip in the first place, and now it’s being replaced by pricey, soulless, luxury mid rises.
Sorry to see it go. Lots of Rice students lived there over the years.
We lived there almost two years after moving here. Drove by it over the weekend. Curious to see what will be built on the site.
Lived there for 3 years and 2 years at 1301 before that. Montrose will continue to turn into something totally different, than what it once was, but hey…change is inevitable.
I lived on Castle Ct. for 8 years and I loved that street. It’s sad to see how quickly it is going to change for the worse, because there was nothing wrong with any of the structures recently demolished.
And on another note, my father’s girlfriend first moved to Houston in the late ’70s (for reasons I still don’t know). She was dropped off at the Women’s shelter (I forget the actual name) on Westheimer. She soon landed a job and moved to The Place when she got her first job.
That is all.
My first apartment was at The Place! I was there for a couple years. During my stay, they tore out part of a couple of the buildings for the 59/spur project they had going. Then 59 went from towering OVER the complex to being 50 feet BELOW the complex.
Sorry to see it go, but it appears to be yet another step in Montrose’s ongoing effort to tear down everywhere I’ve ever lived…
My friend tried to buy this a few years back to hold and operate. He was outbid by a huge amount. If you want to buy one of these complexes to operate, its almost impossible to pay what someone is willing to pay if they’re going to blow it up. Add the fact the city wants these things blown up so will use their soft pressure (red tags, permits, etc) to make it happen = no way these things stay.
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I think that was the day he realized prices in Montrose have jumped the shark and he sold almost all his Montrose stuff and bought in Spring Branch (which is now starting to do the same). Some people are buying in Montrose to operate, though they’re willing to make no return and hold for a loooong time.
Holy crap. My mom lived in those for about … 10 years, give or take. I’d kind of forgot that they were still around – she’d moved out when they lost some buildings due to the trenching of 59 right there, and I just kinda blanked that it was still there after those went. (That they were so well hidden as you go past on 59 post-trenching doesn’t help.)